HUNDREDS of modern day pilgrims will follow in the footsteps of their ancestors by walking four miles.

Exactly 870 years after a group of 12th Century monks walked from Ripon Cathedral to found Fountains Abbey, in North Yorkshire, record numbers of people will cover the route.

Led by the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, the Right Reverend John Packer, organisers are hoping to see more than 1,900 people attend the Boxing Day Pilgrimage this year.

Walkers are asked to gather on Ripon Cathedral's West Front, after a service of Holy Communion at 10am. The journey will conclude with a service of carols and prayers in the ruins of Fountain's Abbey